Let's Make a Deal
by ShearViscosity
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin didn't lie about the land not having magic, but he did omit the small detail about it having monsters. When Cinderella/Ashley resorts to making a deal with a demon in order to keep her baby, he decides to summon the demon. Being his persuasive self, he presents the demon with a deal only a fool would refuse. Crowley hasn't survived this long by being a fool.


I do not own the rights to Supernatural or Once Upon a Time. The first part of the story takes place in season 1 for Once after the 'Pilot' and before 'The Price of Gold'. The second part is set in season 2 after 'Into the Deep'. As for Supernatural, the story takes place in season 5. The first part after 'Abandon All Hope' and the second right before 'The Devil You Know'.

**Let's Make a Deal**

Twenty-eight years.

Rumpelstiltskin had spent twenty-eight years in the small town where nothing ever happened. Twenty-eight years of waiting patiently for Emma to arrive and break the spell so he could at last find Bael. Some might have gone mad due to the dullness, but not him. He was a patient man, and would have waited a thousand years for his son.

Emma's own son, Henry, hadn't even done much to change the town. It wasn't until his mother showed up did things actually start changing. The moment she stepped into town time for the residents began to move forward. For the first time in twenty-eight years they were allowed to move forward with their lives and age.

Residents such as Cinderella, or as she was known in Storybrooke, Ashley. The girl had struck a deal with him back home, and just because they were all in a new land without magic, didn't mean she was going to be let out of her deal. Now that time was moving forward at last, it was getting closer and closer to the day when she would have to fulfill her end of their agreement.

Given the fact she and her prince had gone as far to tricking him in order to get out of the deal, it was only reasonable that they would try to get out of the deal here as well. At least the girl would, seeing how they were currently on a break and didn't remember their former lives.

When Rumpelstiltskin had told Regina all those years ago about a land without magic, he hadn't been lying. He had merely been omitting the minute detail about the existence of monsters, demons, and other things that go bump in the night. He figured if there was a ever a showdown between the two, the extra knowledge would be beneficial, especially if it occurred before Emma or magic returned.

Keeping the knowledge to himself ended up proving useful. It was he who woke up in the middle of the night, not Regina. It was he who felt the odd tingly sensation that was dark power, but not quite magic. And it was who ventured out to area where it originated- a crossroads, close to the town border- and dug up something of interest to him only.

He had known the girl was desperate, but selling her soul to a demon for 10 years and her child? Then again, this was the same girl who agreed to his price without asking what it was, just to go to a_ ball_. Clearly thinking about the consequences of her actions and planning ahead was not one of her strengths.

Of course, people like her was why he managed to stay in business over the years. So he really couldn't complain too much.

But still a demon? How did she even manage to know how to summon one?

It took a bit of recollection on Rumpelstiltskin's part, but eventually he remembered something which caused him to realize just how crafty the girl was, and that he had underestimated her. A few weeks previous to the summoning, she had barged into his shop begging for another deal, anything but her child. When he refused, an altercation had occurred. No bodily damage, just physical damage to some of his belongings that were unfortunate enough to be near them at the time.

Including a stack of old books concerning demons that he had been translating into English.

To alleviate boredom, he had tasked himself to learn as much as possible about the new world he was in. Once he was done with the basics- geography, history, technology- he had moved on to less obvious subjects. Ones that would have had Regina at his doorsteps in seconds if she had ever caught wind of it.

Arriving in the early 1980's certain books and materials were hard to get a hold of when one couldn't leave a town. It also meant Rumpelstiltskin was limited to whatever Regina had supplied the town with.

Then the 1990's came and brought along a marvelous invention known as the internet. In order to keep up the charade that everything was perfectly normal in the town, Regina had to allow the residents adapt to the new technology and keep up with the times. Otherwise they might start questioning their sense of 80's fashion and prehistoric (in their mind at least) technology in the town when the year was supposed to be 2000.

Using the internet he was able to learn so many new things, and meet so many new people willing to send him books and other things he requested in exchange for money, which thanks to his deal with Regina, he had plenty of.

At first Regina had been suspicious of the mail he was suddenly receiving from the outside world- contrary to Henry's belief that strangers weren't allowed in town. How did he think supplies come in, or even himself when he was a baby? The spell was actually more like a filter- keeping the fairytale residents in, and only allowing outsiders in or out under certain circumstances. If they had no business with the town, or meant harm, they were strongly dissuaded from entering. Those who did enter had a very strong urge to leave as soon as possible.

Only Emma seemed immune to the magic, which irked Regina to no end, and amused him greatly.

Despite her sneaking suspicions there wasn't much she could do. At that time he was still feigning ignorance of his true identity of Rumpelstiltskin and was pretending to be 'Mr. Gold'. Regina really had no reason to distrust him, other than their past together which wasn't supposed to actually exist in accordance with the curse. A couple orders of thick encyclopedias, heavy rocks, and elaborate sculptures put an end to her snooping through his mail and investigating his on-goings.

Which allowed him to indulge in all those things she suspected him of. Such as learning more about the monsters who existed in this strange, new world, and how to kill them. Or slowly renovating his shop and home to add in protection against said monsters.

He had given thought to summoning one himself in exchange for Bael or information regarding his son. The look of disappointment on his son's face at the news of what his father had done for him always stopped him though. He had disappointed his son so many times, he didn't think he could stand another. Besides, what better way to prove that he had changed and he was sorry for his actions, than to not give into the dark powers that could make finding him so much easier?

As the saying went, better be safe than sorry, and Rumpelstiltskin did have twenty-eight years to pass before anything exciting was scheduled to happen.

Like Emma Swan's arrival in town. Time moving forward. Cinderella/Ashley summoning a demon to make a deal. And him, summoning the same demon to make a deal of his own, in the same shop he had spent years increasing the security of.

The demon took a couple seconds registering his surroundings before his eyes landed on Rumpelstiltskin.

"Hello there, name's Crowley. What can I do for you?"

Oh, polite and to the point. Who knew demons could have manners? It was time to rattle his cage a little though. His words indicated he was the subservient one to Rumpelstiltskin, while his body language and air of power surrounding him told who he thought was really in charge. By now his summoners would either be babbling nonsense about how they didn't think the summoning would actually work, or giving him a long lists of demands as if he was Santa Claus.

Rumpelstiltskin was usually on the other side of the deal, and it was time to show that he was no ordinary human.

"Hello, Mr. Crowley," he said with a smile, matching Crowley's pleasant tone. "What you can do for me is quite simple. I believe you know this girl."

He handed Crowley an old faded picture of Cinderella/Ashley, the same one she had buried the other day in order to summon the demon. Crowley took the picture and studied it. When he looked back up, the pleasantness smile from earlier was gone from his face.

"Yes I know her, but you already knew that, didn't you Mr. Gold?"

'Mr. Gold' smiled to himself. How he loved the expression on people's faces as they started to understand the person who was playing with them. The one before him was quicker than the others, and Rumpelstiltskin hadn't had such an opponent in years. This was going to be fun.

"Let's drop the pretenses. Yesterday you made a deal with her, most likely regarding the deal she made with me about her child. I want you to let her out of the deal you made."

Crowley chuckled, and shook his head. "You know, when she told me that you would find out about our little deal, I thought she was simply paranoid. I have to admit this is a new one for me. Sorry, but no 'take backsies'. Now is there something else I can do for you?"

Rumpelstiltskin took a step closer to the demon, so he could see the determined look on his face.

"Did she tell you how she even managed to land her shining prince? That if it wasn't for me, she would have never managed to get to the party. And when it all went south, who did she turn to? Me. Who is she in debt too? Me."

Shifting his weight to the other foot, Crowley ignored the request. "So what does that make you then, her fairy godmother?" he joked.

"Something like that," replied Rumpelstiltskin with an all-knowing predatory smile that was unlike his previous ones, and caused Crowley to become ill at ease. "Now if you'd be so kind to let her out of her deal..."

"Sorry, no can do mate. Even if I could, I wouldn't. What if word gets outs that all you have to do to cancel a deal is to appear menacing?"

"Menacing? You think I'm menace?" laughed Rumpelstiltskin. He pulled a metal dagger out of a pocket and began to finger it gently, as if it was an old familiar acquaintance.

Crowley realized perhaps a bit too late that he might be out of his element. With the internet, any human could get lucky and stumble upon a sigil or two to summon and confine a demon. But knowing how to properly prepare a weapon to specifically kill demons? He was dealing with a bloody Winchester wannabe.

"I can assure you Mr. Crowley that I'm no mere menace. You see, this is my town, and if anybody is making deals here, it's me. By now you've noticed my dagger, the wards hidden about my shop, and are starting to wonder who you are dealing with exactly. Let's just say I'm a certain individual that is well acquainted with darkness and lost my soul to it many years ago. I'm not an unreasonable man, and know better to expect something for nothing. In your line of work you've made many enemies over the years and could find something of interest in the shop..."

He may have listened to the man's words, but Crowley's eyes were on the dagger that the man causally continued spinning in his hand. Something wasn't right here, and he instincts were telling him to get out. His instincts had saved him many times over the years. Some might call him a coward, but he preferred to think of himself as merely being a survivalist. There was a reason why the Winchesters had died so many times compared to his once- they just loved running into battles against beings they didn't fully understand instead of retreating.

As for the man's offer, he would love to take him up on it just to get away from the dagger and his creepy smile. Even if there wasn't something he could use against his enemies (of which he did have many) there looked to be many old books that might be useful.

Except for the little detail concerning the fact that he was just an underling, and didn't have the proper authority to cancel a deal. He didn't have that kind of power. Yet. There was something about the glint in the man's eyes though that made Crowley think that he wouldn't accept 'no' as an answer.

"Believe me mate, right now I would like nothing more than to make you happy. However, breaking deals is something I can't do."

The man chuckled, which did nothing to ease Crowley's growing fears.

"Alright then, you can't break the deal. Surely you can share it though, from one businessman to another? What were her exact words?"

Crowley wasn't sure where this was going, but he was more than happy to oblige. Pleasing mad-men with weapons which might be used on him was something that he was far too used to doing.

"Her exact words were: 'I want to keep my baby'."

"That's it? 'I want to keep my baby'?" Rumplestiltskin- still known to Crowley as Mr. Gold, though he was betting that wasn't his actual name- started tut-tutting.

"Silly girl. Willing to agree to something without asking for the price, willing to sell her soul for her child and doesn't even bother to word her request carefully. So she wants to keep her baby then? For how long? A second, a minute, a year? Such a shame she didn't specify..."

At long last it was Crowley's turn to chuckle. This man was starting to grow on him; being clever enough to spot the loopholes in the girl's deal and turning them against her while allowing Crowley to fulfill his end of the deal at the same time.

"So it's settled then? She gets to keep her child- let's say for an hour, plenty of time to say goodbye- and you spread word among your associates that this town is off limits for deals. In return, I'll let you have something from my shop."

"Alright," agreed Crowley. "Though the town being off limits will be hard to pull off..."

The smile that appeared on Rumplestiltskin face was similar to the one that had appeared when Crowley had first been summoned- not the one that gave him the creeps. Good, that meant this was almost over.

"You're clever, I'm sure you'll think of something. If necessary, tell them that a madman with an enchanted dagger and a wicked queen reside in the town, willing to kill those perceived as threats."

And the creepy smile was back- just when Crowley had begun to relax.

"There's just one problem," he said while trying to ignore the creepy smile, "As you pointed out earlier, your shop is well warded, and I doubt I could just walk into town..."

"The nice thing about the twenty-first century is that humans have these wonderful devices called phones. I assume you know how to work one."

Crowley rolled his eyes. "I'm old, not ancient. Now there's just the matter of sealing the deal..."

* * *

Over six months passed before the demon called in his favor. By that time even more change had come to the town. The curse was broken, magic was back, Rumpelstiltskin had Belle, the town hated Regina, he was in the process of finding a spell to cross the border with his memories. Sure Emma and Snow were in another world, but he had faith they would return home eventually. Heroes always found a way, true love's kiss and the like.

Rumpelstiltskin had been right, dealing with the demon was fun. So much more fun than he had in years. He had even tapped into his old self toward the end, just to freak the demon out even more. Storybrooke required him to be so careful, so in control of his appearance, that letting go and acting like his former self was near impossible.

But ever so much _fun_.

The dagger he had threatened the demon with wasn't _that_ dagger. He knew better than to bring it out into the open, possibly giving unknown and potential enemies a look at it. The dagger he had used he had made himself one weekend- just in case of course.

The kiss had been interesting. Perhaps he should start including the ritual in his own deals if only to see the squeamish looks that crossed his customers' faces.

In the end, Cinderella did get to keep her child, but not through any deal she made. Oh no, it was thanks to Emma, the destined savior of the town. A deal with her was worth two with the girl in Rumpelstiltskin's opinion. One more 'just in case' card to have up his sleeve.

The real beauty was that in ten years time the demon would come to collect on his deal. Of course, with the curse being broken she could be back home in another world by the time that deal came due. If she wasn't, well, she knew who to turn to for help...

The object the demon had asked for really wasn't worth much to Rumpelstiltskin. Just some old coin he had managed to collect as payment once that allowed its user to track a target and overhear conversations. Not worth much when all the residents in the town still couldn't go anywhere, and the people he would use it on would be able to detect the magical eavesdropper.

He didn't plan on making any more deals with the demon, but he did wonder what sort of a price he would have to pay for a hellhound. With one of those, Cora's and the pirate's death were guaranteed whenever they finally arrived in Storybrooke. From his understanding, even magic couldn't stop one of those from tearing you limb to limb.

Now where did he put the demon's number?

****Author's Note****

I blame my friend for this idea. She had recently started watching Once and was like, wouldn't it be cool if Rumple and Crowley met given their history of making deals? Within minutes the idea for this fic popped into my head and it was just too fun not to write. Especially the fairy-godmother line.

I also wanted to address the idiotic belief that the curse on the town keeps outsiders from entering- the one that Henry and the residents believe in season 2 and the writers need to address. If the curse prevented outsiders from entering, how do the people have cell phones and other modern electronics? Assuming the show is set in modern day, they had to arrive in the early 1980's. Is there some factory that's never been shown making all the modern day technology and clothes? Or do they just randomly spawn in places? How does Storybrooke get food and other goods?

Furthermore how did Henry get into the town? If outsiders can't enter and residents can't leave, did somebody just drop him off at the border and he crawled across? I guess Regina could have done some magic allowing her to cross or an outsider to enter with Henry, but considering the difficulty she had with doing magic before it was brought back to the town in season 2, I doubt it.

Until the writers clarify how the border spell worked, I'm sticking with my theory.

Also, given the lack of hesitant he showed for unleashing a wraith on Regina, I can't see him having an issue with using a hellhound on Cora.

Anyway, thanks for reading and if possible leave a review!


End file.
